


Cat and Mouse

by midnight_sakura_tea



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: A bit of gore, Kaneki and Hide are a bit OC, M/M, they aren't ghouls here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-05
Updated: 2015-04-06
Packaged: 2018-03-21 08:12:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3684792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnight_sakura_tea/pseuds/midnight_sakura_tea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Eyepatch" is a serial killer raging through the streets of Tokyo.</p><p>Hideyoshi Nagachika is the investigator assigned to catch this "Eyepatch".</p><p>A game starts.</p><p>But the question is, who will win?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dawn

“It happened again!”

Slamming the newspaper on Juuzou’s desk, Amon glared at him.

Rolling his eyes, Juuzou looked up with bored eyes at the looming figure that was towering over him.

“You know, I get those dirty papers everyday right?

The older fumed.

“How are you just sitting there just like that? Eyepatch killed—no—thoughtlessly murdered a family with three kids and an unborn child huh?!”

Again, Juuzou rolled his eyes.

“Amon-kun, we aren’t even the ones assigned to the case, therefore, you can’t do anything about it idiot. Let’s just hope that the investigators find the criminal! Now shut up! I’m trying to read my manga here!”

“Mado hasn’t been able to catch Eyepatch yet! He’s probably going to lose the case sooner or later!”

Juuzou snorted, playing with the markers in his hand. “Yes, we’ll be totally chosen for this “new case” with another new investigator. Stop. Dreaming.”

Amon glared.

“Well, we can always dream!”

“Well, then, dream on! It’s never going to happen, I tell you!”

 

`

 

“Mado-san, have you found anything on the Eyepatch case?” Arima, the chief and top investigator asked.

Mado looked at the ground, wishing that it would swallow him up. He needed to find an excuse. Quickly. (That wasn’t going to happen though) He still had a family to feed and a birthday present to buy for his daughter.

“Unfortunately, it seems that Eyepatch doesn’t even exist. The only clues that we found mysteriously disappeared after a while.”

Arima had a poker face on.

Slowly, as if trying to get the pronunciation right, he said, “So you are telling me that even after I gave you 8 weeks to catch this Eyepatch, you haven’t even been able to keep a fucking clue for more than a day?”

Mado had nothing to say.

“Forget it. I gave my top two investigators each 8 weeks to find the culprit, and yet you still can’t find him. You are off the case! Hideyoshi Nagachika, you will take the case. Do you understand?! Don’t you dare fail me.”

Hideyoshi gracefully bowed, and cheerfully said, “Hai Arima-senpai! I will do my best!”

Again, the poker face was back.

“Just don’t fail me.”

 

`

 

A man, in his late 20’s, was sprawled across the ground. His intestines were spilled out next to him. His face was a mess, the shiny white cheekbone showing prominently. The eyes were carved deeply into.

 

Carefully, Hide walked around, calling out orders to his agents. Bending down, he scrutinized the damage that couldn’t be undone. The left leg of the man was broken, so he must have struggled a lot when he was alive and was pulled harshly enough by Eyepatch to have broken his leg. The nails had blood in them, so he must have clawed at Eyepatch, trying to stop the mutilation being done to his body.

 

“Hide-san, everything that belonged to the man are gone.”

Sighing, Hide pulled up the white sheet to cover the corpse. He knew that this would happen.

 

“But we did find something else.”

“What?”

“A bookmark that said, ‘Don’t get in my way…..unless you hope to become like the others  -Mukade’”

 

~

 

Just a couple feet away from the crime scene, a slim boy, dressed in tight leather, adorned with a black mask smiled. The new investigator assigned to him was kind of cute. And blonde hair at that too! Just like the boy he killed two weeks ago.

 

“Hmmm, you seem better than those two old men that were assigned to find me.”

Giggling to himself, he admired the new investigator’s jawline.

“Let us play.”

 

~

 

Groaning at the lack of sleep, Hide dragged himself to his current favorite coffee shop, Anteiku. It was a modest little place, with little people in it. The pearly white bone of the dead man from yesterday was still in his mind.

Opening the files in his hand, Hide groaned and slammed the papers shut.

A menu was replaced into his hand by a waiter.

Raising his hand to glare at the person, Hide stopped suddenly. The apparently seemingly new waiter had an adorable mass of hair, smiling plush pink lips, high cheekbones, and long legs.

And the angel spoke.

“And what will your order be, mister?”

_How could a boy speaking those few words look so cute. Gosh, Hide you need to calm the fuck down. He’s probably too young for you anyways._

“A Caramel Frap please. It’s wait I normally get anyways.”

The waiter smiled, cutely.

“Well, I’ll see you quite often then!”

“Yeah!” _Chill Hide._ “Well, what’s your name?”

With laughter that sounded like twinkling bells, the waiter answered and also holding his hand for a shake. “Kaneki Ken. 22.”

Hideyoshi took the pale hand. “Hideyoshi Nagachika. 25….and forever young!”

Kaneki grinned.

“I’ll bring your order out in a few minutes!”

He turned around and walked into the shop’s kitchen.

_Is it just Hide, or was Kaneki’s butt swaying a bit…?_

 

~

 

Kaneki smirked. He knew that the investigator would fell for his act. Or charm you could say. What an easy guy to manipulate.

 

 He would have fun playing this game.

 


	2. So the Chase Begins

“Have you gotten the results of the DNA analysis from the lab”

“Not yet, they should be here by tonight, Hideyoshi-san.”

“Then were there any witnesses?”

“No.”

“How about the weapons that “Eyepatch” used?”

“A knife.”

 

Amon frowned. A week had passed and Hide’s team hadn’t gotten anywhere. Hide groaned then realized something. He looked at his two subordinates.

“Eyepatch must have used a small knife for murder….the biggest it could get would be a serrated knife. Juuzou, please go collect all the knives of that size and smaller from the weapons room and meet Amon and I in my office.”

Juuzou gaped at his superior.

“You expect me to find all those knives in less than one hour?!”

Hide grinned with an eye smile appearing.

“Have fun Juuzou-chan! I expect the best results from you!”

 

~

 

“You look very tired today Hideyoshi-san. “

Hide glanced away from his files only to be met with the pretty eyes of Kaneki as he bought his order. Leaning over the counter, Kaneki peeped at the files in Hide’s hands.

“Oohh…isn’t that the Eyepatch case?”

“…yes…” sighed Hide.

“Have you found any clues yet?”

Hide resisted the urge to groan.

“No, not yet.”

Kaneki giggled.

“Wow, this person must be very good, being able to hide away from you, Mr. Amazing Detective!”

“Yes, he’s very smart…a genius even. And very crazy.”

“Isn’t that what everyone is afraid of? A crazy but very smart person?”

Hide pouted.

“Yeah..ugh what am I gonna do?”

Kaneki laughed again. Hide just couldn’t help but look at the pretty lips.

“But Hide-san, have you guys found a clue on what the weapon is?”

“We’ve narrowed the possibilities down to a small dagger, a throwing knife, or a butterfly knife.”

Kaneki snorted.

“A dagger? Weren’t those used in the 18th century or something?”

Hide pouted again.

“Well, who cuts open poor pedestrians in Tokyo?”

“True that.”

“Hide-san, do you like my new bookmark? I just got it to match my book, The Black Goat’s egg!”

For some reason, that bookmark looked very familiar…

“What does the quote say Kaneki?”

“It’s better to be hurt than to hurt others.”

Silence took over the two for a while until Kaneki had to leave to take another customer’s order.

_Hmm…that boy was kinda weird…why would he rather be the one hurt?_

 

~

 

“Incoming! Please move aside and let us pass!”

Hide, Amon, and Juuzou pushed aside the crowd of people as they headed towards the crime scene. The scent of blood lingered heavily in the air. They were in Kabukicho, a well-known red-light district in Tokyo. The four prostitutes in the tiny building had been killed. A young customer had been quite surprised to see that his “entertainer” had already been raped and was dead…along with a few other dead bodies.

 

Hide covered his nose and put on a face mask and gloves before he entered the dark building. The first corpse that he saw was a girl with red hair, again with her…guts pulled out, and also bled to death like all the other crimes before her. Again, a bookmark was laid on top of her chest. The other two corpses, both girls with hazelnut hair, had bloody lines etched downwards next to their mouths, as to make a sad face. They also had the same bookmark.

 

Finally, he reached the last prostitute. A young woman in her late 20’s was laying on a dirty mattress with her lingerie torn. Her two breasts were already mutilated too much to even be considered as a chest. The bookmark was laid right on her privates, as if to cover her modestly.

 

Hide wanted to strangle someone. Hopefully this Eyepatch person. The poor woman was already living in a danky home, why make her life even more miserable? Cruel bastard.

He leaned towards her face more. Her eyes were still open..but they were clear. Purple lips. Dark eyes.

Something was different though.

“What is the estimated time of death for the other prostitutes?”

The paramedic said, “Around 9:45 o’clock.”

“This woman was killed before the others. Please examine her and report the details back to me.”

 

“Amon!”

The said person jumped, a bit surprised.

“Hai!”

“When did the customer call?”

“Around 10 o’clock…?”

“Has he been interrogated already by Juuzou?”

“Hai!”

“Well… did you find anything?”

“The customer didn’t see anything, but he did hear something…”

Hide’s eyes widened.

“What?!”

“He heard a l-laugh downstairs….but he was too scared to see what it was…and climbed out the window to quickly call the police.”

‘Damn it!”

“Excuse me Hideyoshi-san, but I have the results.” The paramedic told Hide.

“The prostitute did die before the others, but she’s been in the house since around 12 o’clock at noon.”

“What…?”

“In addition, she committed to sexual intercourse before death.”

“She was raped right?”

“No….it was consented.”

Hide rubbed at his forehead and just left, grumbling under his breath.

When he got out of the house, he say Juuzou with the customer…that was crying.

Hide sighed and offered his hand to the other man.

“Hello! I am Detective Hideyoshi, and you are?”

Shakingly, the young man said, “Hirano S-Shin”.

“I have some questions for you Hirano, please answer them honestly.:

Hirano nodded, still slightly frightened.

“So, what was the prostitutes name?”

“Hairi, Goya Hairi…”

“Well, what is your relationship to her?”

Shin rushed out his answer in a mix of jumbled words.

“Well, um you see, I’m not just a customer to her. N-no! I’m not even one of her customers! We are just friends! Since middle school, we’ve been best friends…even after we graduated from high school! My family was more well-off than hers, so I was able to afford going to university and getting a job. Hairi-chan couldn’t even afford going to university and in addition to her parents getting killed in a car crash, she resorted to being a prostitute. So every other day, I go to her house to give her a bit of spending cash and stuff y-you know? And today was her day off!”

“I see. Did she ever talk to you about the other prostitutes she lived with?”

“Yeah, she said that they were like family to her.”

“Well, Hairi was killed before them…in fact about 7 hours before them.”

Shin gaped at Hide. “W-what?! “

“That’s what I’m asking you. How did Hairi stay in her room for 7 hours, without any of the other girls noticing her?”

The man casted his eyes onto the ground.

“She told me that they went on a shopping trip and were coming back at night…”

“I understand now. Did Hairi ever tell you about any of her relationships besides of her customers?”

“Yes, but she wasn’t dating anyone. There was a guy that kept on wanting to be her boyfriend though…and Hairi also had his number…”

“Do you know his name?”

“No, he always used a nickname whenever he talked to Hairi. I think it was Gantai.”

_Gantai? Like Eyepatch…. No it isn’t possible. That guy’s too careful..he won’t leave any tracks behind. Unless this was done on purpose…_

“Um…Hide-san? About the woman…?” asked Juuzou.

“Yeah Juuzou?”

“She didn’t have sexual intercourse before time of death.”

“Excuse me?”

“We found some masturbating devices under her pillow…she was pleasuring herself before she died…”

Hide wanted to wail at how confusing this was turning out to be.

Juuzou giggled nervously.

“Ummmmmm can I leave? This is so awkward…”

“Yeah go help the other investigators find her cellphone. And tell Amon to bring Hirano Shin to the police station to interrogate him again.”

“Hai!”

 

~

 

Hide rummaged through the woman’s drawers, looking for the phone. He must find that phone. He knew that something was going on between Kaneki and the Eyepatch. The similar bookmarks used by both of them? The two must be associates of some sort with eachother.

 _“_ _Sakura hira hira…The leaves will flutter to the ground…It reminds me of the days when you…Were here to hold my hand…And the promises we've made along…Still keeps me hanging on…Hold me now just like other lovers…”_ A phone rang in the room.

 

Hide found it in a small corner under the bed.

There was no caller ID.

He cautiously answered it.

“Hel..lo?”

_“Hello Hideyoshi”_

Hide felt his eyes grow to the size of dinner plates.

“W-who is it?”

_“Please refrain from searching Gantai in Hairi’s contacts. She doesn’t have his number.”_

Hide quickly shut the door of Hairi’s bedroom.

_“Scared of the others knowing who you are talking to?”_

“You are Eyepatch right?”

_“Eww, I don’t like that name…it doesn’t sound majestic at all!”_

“It’s a name proper for you.”

_“Now don’t be so mean!”_

Hide could hear a pout in the other’s voice.

“What do you want?!”

_“I just wanted to spend some lovely time with Mr. Handsome of course!”_

“I don’t have anything to talk to you about.”

_“Well that’s too sad because I have a ton of things to talk about!”_

“Let’s talk about your relationship to Kaneki Ken then. Is he one of your accomplices?!”

_“Who the hell is that? And no, accomplices! Hah, like I need them!”_

Hide growled.

_“By the way, I don’t use a butterfly knife, a dagger, or a throwing knife…. I used better methods than those!”_

“And what the hell does that mean?!”

Crazy laughter sounded on the other side.

_“You’re the one that’s supposed to solve my riddles! I don’t just give answers for free!”_

_“Anyways, I’m tired of talking. Goodbyes! By the way, it is Gantai that you are talking too. Haha!”_

*Beep*

Hide wanted to throw the phone across the room but stopped himself from doing so. This was a clue.

He stormed out of the house but didn’t stop himself from punching the walls outside the house. Amon ran to help him, but Hide shooed him away.

Hide fell to his knees and glared out into the horizon.

_“I will kill you one day Gantai, and you’ll wish that you’ve never been born!”_


	3. ゲーム (Gēmu: Game)

Hide rubbed his forehead when he looked at the board full of pictures and red threads that connected to nowhere. He needed to go out for a walk to calm his raging mind because the only thing he could see right now were dead prostitutes.

 

The night was getting darker by the minute and beautiful stars were coming out. There was no one out in the streets. Ever since the Eyepatch cases started, everyone was too afraid to stay out. All the mothers picked up their kids from school.

 

Hide sat on a swing in the nearby park. _A few more clues was all he needed to catch Eyepatch._

“Hide-san! How nice it is to see you again!”

Hide looked to his right. Kaneki was standing near him, all huddled up (cutely) in a nice warm sweater.

“Why are you out on such a cold night?”

“I needed some fresh air to claim my mind. You?”

Kaneki took a seat in the swing next to hide. He dangled is feet.

“I too needed some fresh air.”

Kaneki ran a hand through his pure white bangs.

“I heard about the last case. It was devastating wasn’t it?”

“Yes it was. Why would the killer come back to kill the other prostitutes?”

Kaneki stuck his bottom lip out, thinking hard.

“Maybe he likes to see all his works finished? Maybe that one was incomplete.”

Hide sighed and swung his legs.

“May I tell you something?”

“Yeah!”

“He called me…Eyepatch called me…”

Kaneki stared at Hide.

“Seriously? What did he say?”

Hide frowned, deep in thought.

“I don’t know…his call was in the woman’s room…and all he said was that he didn’t use any of the knives we found in the weapons room…and that he didn’t like the name we gave to him. Then, he hanged up.”

Hide looked at Kaneki, without really looking at him. It was as though that he was talking and thinking himself…

“But why would he call me? He’s never tried calling the previous two investigators before. Why me? Is he giving out these hints purposefully?”

“Maybe he just likes the thrill of getting close to being caught when he murders someone again?”

Hide laughed, but it was a strangled laugh.

“So you are saying, he’s going to kill some again?”

“Maybe…?”

Silence overtook them once again…just like at the coffee shop.

 

~

 

By the time Hide got back from his walk and weird little talk with Kaneki, his head was more clear than it was in the morning. He took a warm shower  and was just getting ready for bed when the phone ring.

It was an anonymous phone call.

_Did Eyepatch kill someone again?_

“Hello?”

_“Hello to my favorite Mr. Handsome Detective!”_

Sweat broke out on Hide’s face.

“How the fuck did you get my number?!”

_“Now don’t be so rude! Would you be scared…if I told you that I can see you right now? Cute boxers by the way!”_

Hide quickly stood up and looked through all his windows for any sight of Eyepatch.

_“You won’t see me though!”_

“So you placed hidden inside my house to watch me?

_“Hah, no! That would take too much planning and time. You see, I do what I want whenever I want. I ain’t staying home and watching you through the camera screens. I think that’s for the gangs and mafias, not me!”_

“So you say that you don’t plan anything, but how come it is possible for you to leave no clues behind in all the crimes you’ve done?”

He could hear a grin.

_“Well that’s because I’m very good at this of course!”_

_“Don’t you have a question for me? I heard everything that you talked to with the white-haired boy at the park!”_

“Well if you did hear anything, then please answer my questions.”

_“Which are….”_

“Why have you never contacted any other investigators before me?”

_“Because I know you are different. Even if anything happens…provided as a barrier…you will never stop chasing me…just like I will never stop killing.”_

“I will catch you.”

 _“Yes you will,”_ mocked Eyepatch.

“What the hell are you talking about it?!”

_“I want you to find me.”_

*Beep*

 

~

 

The usual caramel frap order appeared in front of him. Kaneki was smiling his adorable little smiles too.

“Hide-san, you look so tired! Are you okay?”

“No, I feel like the walking dead.”

“Was it Eyepatch again?”

Hide looked miserably at the sweet drink in front of him.

“He called me again yesterday night.”

“…”

“Ugh, I feel like my head is gonna burst!”

Kaneki giggled.

Hide frowned. Kaneki’s laugh was so so similar to Eyepatch’s. But no, they couldn’t be the same person. One was a serial killer and the other was an innocent employee at Anteiku.

“He also said that he wanted me to catch him…”

“Well that’s good right?”

Hide pouted.

“He’s so good…and the only clues that are left behind are the bookmarks…”

Hide’s phone rang.  Arima was calling him for a meeting. He had to go.

“Bye Kaneki!”

“Bye Hide!”

Kaneki grinned at him.

“Oh and thank you for yesterday! You helped calm my mind a lot!”

“Oh that’s not a problem!”

_“You can do it, Mr. Handsome!”_

Hide swiftly turned around.

“Kaneki, what did you say?!”

“Uhm…? What? Say what?”

Hide sighed.

“Nevermind. Bye.”

The bells on the door jingled as Hide left.

 

~

 

Havoc was occurring in the police station.

Hide stopped Amon and asked, “What’s going on?”

Amon threw all the files that he had into Hide’s hands.

“Eyepatch struck again!”

“What?! But the last case was just a few days ago…”

“And this time he didn’t kill anyone! He killed one of our fieldworkers and his family!”

Amon dragged Hide towards his office.   
“Come on, there was a package found besides the fieldworker for you!”

“And Arima-senpai told us to go to the crime scene first and that you had to take care of the package before going too!”

“Fine.”

Hide closed the door behind him in his office. The tan package had his name on it in very neat handwriting. _To: Hideyoshi Nagachika,_ wow Hide didn’t know that crazy serial killers could have such neat handwriting. Eyepatch was surely…peculiar of some sort.

There was a letter in the box. Carefully, Hide opened it.

 

**Hello Hide!**

**I really like this game we are playing here! It’s much more fun than the boring games that I played with the other two old investigators! Even if you catch me, our game will still be played.**

**You always say that you will kill me. But deep inside of you, I know you won’t. I entrance you…I’m always in your thoughts at night, at day, at anytime.**

**I’m closer than you think I am.**

Hide rubbed at his temples. He took a little maroon box out of the package and on it was a stick note that said: _I used this for all the past crimes. Tehee._

A scent of blood lingered in the air. In the box, it was a small Tanto… used by the samurai in old Japn. And blood was still dripping from the blade.

 

Suddenly, Hide heard people scream down at the streets. Hide rushed to the window to get a look at what was happening. Thousands of sticky-notes were raining down, all with a picture of a centipede.

 

_Well, Fuck._

Hide punched the wall next to him. He didn’t care if blood dripped down his knuckles.

 

_Because he will catch Eyepatch one day…even if it kills himself in the process._


	4. ハント (Hanto:Hunt)

“Kaneki~”

Kaneki stopped in the process of whipping cream and turned to smile at Banjou.

“Yeah?”

“Are you coming with us to the party tonight?”

“There’s a party?”

“Yeah Uta is throwing one.”

“Well…I don’t really know him so probably not…”

“Come on! You can come with me! You know me!”

“Yeah…”

Kaneki grinned awkwardly. He disliked parties…and sweaty crowds.

“But no thanks…”

“Why not? Someone as cute as you could get laid!”

Kaneki smiled a strained smile. He wasn’t patient at all today.

“I’m busy tonight so I won’t go okay?”

_Now I have to do something so I won’t be free tonight._

_~_

“Sup?”

A brunette girl with dark red lipstick and smoky eyes turned to look at Kaneki as he talked to her.

“Hi…”

_I’ve got you._

Kaneki sat next to her at the bar.

“Did you come here alone?”

“Nah, I dunno where all my friends went. They just all disappeared.”

“I see….”

“What about you?”

“Hmm…I’m here alone.”

The girl giggled slightly.

“Would you like to dance?”

 

~

 

Kaneki growled.

“Shut the hell up!”

The brunette looked at Kaneki with fear in her eyes. She was bounded tightly to a chair in one of the private bedrooms.

Kaneki laughed manically and waved his knife in front of her.

“Hmmmm… or maybe I could cut your eyeballs and nose out…but that would be too much blood and we wouldn’t want too much blood on your pretty face, would we?”

The brunette shook her head, hair waving around her wildly.

“So let us play a game!”

Kaneki walked towards the shadows in the back of the room.

“By the way, I’m Eyepatch.”

The girl started crying but her sobs were muffled by the gag.

“I wanted to do something different with you…”

The sound of clothes rustling could be heard.

“So I wanted to torture you…but that’s too similar to what I have been doing before…”

Stuff being opened.

“So maybe I could record you…but you aren’t perfect enough for my handsome investigator.”

“How bout rape? Nah…that’s too disgusting…and filthy.”

He was getting closer to the girl by every second.

“So, I thought murder. You know, it’s a beautiful thing right? I get to control how that person dies, when and where.”

The girl screeched behind her mask as he appeared.

A man with black streaks in his white hair, a skeleton mask that showed one eye rimmed with dark makeup, and a bodysuit composed of intricate pieces of leather.

“Let’s play a game! It decides on how you die…and you get to control it! Let us play…Russian Roulette!”

The girl cried miserably and shook her head.

“Sorry, but no isn’t an answer!”

He laughed loudly and pulled out an orange-haired girl from the connected bathroom. Tying her to the chair next to the brunette, she was gagged too.  Kaneki leaned onto a desk, looking satisfied at his two creations.

“Okay, I will free you from your boundings…because obviously you need hands to play! But promise me not to run, or I’ll torture you in the worst ways possible!”

The girls nodded their heads.

As Kaneki untied the two girls, he explained the game.

“So each of you have three tries. There’s one bullet in this gun. If you pull the trigger with the gun at your head and there’s no bullet, then good for you, you live!”

Kaneki handed the gun to the blonde.

Shaking, the girl reached for the gun. Kaneki started recording the scene using the blonde’s phone.

She pulled the trigger.

**Click**

The girl handed the gun to the brunette.

**Click**

The blonde nervously placed the gun at her head.

“Aww come on! We don’t have all night. There’s a 50% chance you’ll live girls!”

The blonde pulled the trigger.

The blonde’s corpse fell over and the brunette squealed in fright.

Kaneki handed the gun to the brunette.

“You still have your two tries! I told you, there’s only one bullet!”

Still safe.

The dead body of the brunette lurched forward and fell onto the ground face first. Blood dripped around her.

Kaneki stopped the video.

“Unfortunately, there was two bullets! Sorry for lying!”

Kaneki broke out into manic laughter.

 

~

 

“Why did he kill these two girls in an abandoned building this time?’

Hide looked away from the two dead bodies. There was a phone in the Blonde’s lap, with his name on it.

It was a video.

Hide put on some latex gloves and started watching the video.

His face got paler by every second. His knuckles gripped at the phone tightly. How could someone possibly do something as cruel as this?!

“You won’t able to find Eyepatch’s fingerprints. The girls killed themselves.”

Amon gaped at Hide.

“What do you mean?”

“It was a game of Russian Roulette.”

The investigator looked around the floor for any clues.

Instead of finding nothing, he did find a clue.

Hide picked up a liquid eyeliner pen from under the desk.

_Who leaves a liquid eyeliner on the ground…?_

_Unless…it’s a…_

“RETREAT. THERE’S A BOMB IN HERE!”

Everyone rushed out of the abandoned building. It was a good distance away when the bomb went off and it was powerful enough to make the police car’s alarms go off.

The eyeliner pen was the only clue that Hide got that could lead him to Eyepatch. Hopefully they could get something out of that.

 

~

 

It was 5 in the morning by the time Hide got back home. He had spent such a long time figuring out the eyeliner and trying to find clues. But it may have not even been related to the crime. So stupid of him. Throwing an arm over his eyes, Hide dropped himself like a rock onto the couch.

*Ring*

_Again?!_

Hide picked up the phone.

“Hello…?”

_“HI!”_

Hide sat up quickly.

“Why are you calling me?”

_“Aww, I thought you wanted me to call!”_

“You are crazy.”

Manic laughter sounded on the other side.

“Why use a gun? Don’t you normally use knives?”

_“I wanted to try something new just for you. But it was too quick! Not fun at all for me!”_

“You are crazy.”

_“Admit it Hide, you love chasing me. It fuels us both on adrenaline. If you catch me, who else would you be able to chase? Definitely something not as thrilling as this!”_

“You’re mad.”

_“I know you love chasing me.”_

_*_ Beep*

 

Hide did like the chase, but he needed to stop. He needed to put Eyepatch (or Mukade as the criminal called himself) behind the bars once and for all. This was one of the biggest serial killers in Tokyo after all.


	5. 感情(Kanjō:Emotions)

“Something is weird here…”

Hide glared down at the dark mahogany of his desk. His subordinates moved away from him, because if looks could kill, then everyone would be dead by now.

“Eyepatch hasn’t killed anyone in a week yet. Normally he kills people every 3 days, 5 at the most.”

_And he hasn’t called me either…_

Juuzou grinned. “Maybe he’s dead!”

“Definitely not dead.”

“How would you know?”

“Just because.”

Hide gave Amon one of his longggg serious stares.

“W-well isn’t that a good thing? No one is getting killed…”

“Well maybe he’s preparing and building up to commit a mass murder!”

Juuzou frowned. “We can’t even find him, so if the worst does happen, we can’t even do anything.”

Hide slammed his forehead onto the desk.

“Dang it!”

_Why did you stop calling me, Gantai?_

 

~

 

Kaneki stared at his dirty ceiling. He hadn’t left his humble abode for a week…but he was just too tired. Today was the exact same day…and he felt like dying. He wanted to talk to someone that wouldn’t pity him. Pity was a weak thing…he didn’t like that word or emotion at all. He wanted someone who wouldn’t judge…maybe him?

_Why is it that the detective comes up in my mind? He’s not even a friend…in fact, he’s an enemy…_

 

It was already 11 pm and it was dark outside, but Kaneki didn’t feel like sleeping at all. So, following his first instinct, he took his cellphone and dialed the number.

_“Hello?”_

“…Hello…Hide…”

Kaneki could hear the detective frown.

_“What do you want again?”_

_~_

_Gantai finally called me!_

Hide could hear a deep breath on the other side. This didn’t sound like Gantai at all..normally he was all crazy…but now…he just sounded tired.

_“I wanted to confess some things to someone and you were the only person that I could think of at the moment.”_

This was a chance Hide could have at getting to know something more about the killer!

“Like…?”

_“I told you that you would catch me…”_

“I’m listening…”

_“No”_

_“_ What?”

_“I can’t tell you over the phone. We need to meet somewhere.”_

Well wasn’t today Hide’s lucky day. He would get to meet Eyepatch…and hopefully not get killed.

“Where?”

_“The sakura tree that stands in the center of Ueno Park. In 10 minutes. Sit there and wait.”_

 

~

 

Hide sat at the bottom of the sakura tree, looking at the moon that was shining down on him from the midnight blue sky. He breathed into the night air and he felt movement behind him.

“Don’t move. Just stay there and don’t even try to touch me or see me.”

It was the same voice from the phone, Eyepatch’s voice, just a little sadder than usual.

“If you try to move, I will set the bomb off in your apartment building.”

“Fine.”

He heard Eyepatch (no, Gantai) sigh and lean against the tree.

“Do you want to know why I became a killer?”

“Yes…”

Gantai sighed again.

“I wasn’t exactly from a very bad family. Till I was 6, I was very happy, with happy parents, awesome friends…and everything that I could dream of. I was pretty smart too and everyone called me a bookworm. My dad was a high-demanded computer engineer and my mom was a nurse. But one day, when I was 12, my dad was fired and no other company wanted to hire him. He could’ve just done something else, you know? But he chose the wrong choice and got himself into drugs of all sorts, gambling which took all our money away, and everything bad.”

Hide had heard of these stories before…

“My mom started hating my dad and I. She also started smoking and drinking and quit her job. We had to move to a poorer neighborhood and the only thing I treasured, my books, were almost all sold for money on my dad’s part. I didn’t get to make any friends because everyone knew about my parents…”

Hide felt bad for the serial killer. But then…he was still a criminal.

“Then my parents started becoming abusive. I spent most of my time outside of the house, as far away as I could get from them. My new neighbor saw…how empty I looked…so he asked what I liked and I said, books. He was so nice, that he got me a bunch of new books. There was one that caught my eye, Dear Kafka, by Sen Takatsuki. *GUYS I MADE UP WHAT THIS BOOK WAS ABOUT TO GO ALONG WITH THIS STORY!!!*”

Hide smiled slightly because it seemed as though the story was getting happier.

“Actually all of Sen Takatsuki’s works caught my eye, but I liked Dear Kafka the most. The main antagonist of the story was a murderer and a serial killer. Everyone was scared of him because there was no past to him at all.  Even the protagonist wsa deathly scared of him too. To not get killed, everyone tried to be the friend of the killer. In that way, the killer got to do whatever he wanted and whenever he wanted. I liked this style of living.”

Hide frowned, what 12 year old would like the antagonist of a story, especially one who was a serial killer. But still, this story was slightly starting to make a bit more sense.

“I wanted to be just like the antagonist. So by the time I was 13, I dressed up in leather and I even had my own mask. I rimmed my eyes in eyeliner. But my dad hated it. He called me a fag and that I should go to a mental hospital.”

“What did you do then?”

“I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t run away..so I just continued on with my love for books and dressing up as that way. But I did keep one quote by my side: ‘Pain makes people change’. It changed me.”

“What happened to your parents?”

“On my 14th birthday, when my parents were sleeping, I set the house on fire. And then I went to my aunt’s, whose house was nearby. Later, the police declared the cause of death for my parents was the running fuel in the gas stove.”

“So you are saying, you killed your parents?”

“I finally felt like I belonged to the world when I saw flames consuming that house.”

Something was wrong with this guy. No one kills their parents at such a young age.

“I lived with my aunt for a while, but she hated me so till I was 18, I was in and out of  multiple foster homes. Finally, after a few months of doing…crimes…here and there…I finally killed someone. I was relieved. And you know what happens after…”

Silence overtook them.

Hide was the first one to speak.

“So what do you want me to say?”

“Nothing, I’m just happy that you listened to me.”

“Why did you choose me?”

“Because I knew that I wouldn’t be getting any pity from you.”

“That’s it?”

_“You do realize that everyone, even killers, have emotions right?”_


	6. 取り調べ (Torishirabe:Interrogation)

 By the time Hide arrived at the police station, he felt refreshed and ready to start the day.

“Amon and Juuzou, please go through the archives and look for houses that were burnt down and declared accidental with only the parents in it but not the child. In a poor neighborhood between the last 15 to 10 years!”

Juuzou groaned.

“That’s going to take us years! And there’s probably too many of the same cases!”

“Well search for the mom being a nurse and the dad being an unemployed computer engineer! Also, the case of fire thought to be the gas fuel in the stove!”

Amon asked, “Why do we have to find that?”

“JUST DO IT!”

 

~

 

Without sleeping for more than two hours per day and along with the hurrying from Hide, Amon and Juuzou finally narrowed the results down in two days.

Amon threw the files onto Hide’s desk.

“The first few ones are the cases that occurred in Tokyo. I really hope that I didn’t spend two days wasting my time and not getting enough sleep to look for this.”

 

Hide bowed to them, thanking along the way. The first few files though, he didn’t find any results until he saw a name in a file that caught his attention. A lot. The name on it was: Kaneki Ken.

_Kaneki Ken…_

_A case from 2007…_

_He’s 22 now.._

_So he was exactly 14…at that time_

_Well shit._

In addition, the file also said that Kaneki Ken was at his aunt’s house at the time of the fire.

_It fitted perfectly with Gantai’s story._

_I really hope that Kaneki Ken will tell me that his parents are alive and well…._

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

Banging occurred on Hide’s office door.

Amon stuck his head in.

“Hurry! Eyepatch has struck again. There’s 10 victimes, and one is still alive!”

Hide bit his lip.

_Was it a mistake or did Gantai purposefully let the victim live…just to show us?_

_~_

The fuck.

It looked like a ritual at the crime scene.

Metal jagged spikes went around a circle.

On each of the tallest spikes, one person was impaled on it, their blood dripping down. There was only one that was empty, but it was still tainted with blood. Around the spikes were tall wooden sticks, each lit with blue fire on top.

Juuzou felt like throwing up.

Amon had already thrown up.

The paramedic told Hide, “The guy that was impaled at one point is still in critical condition. We don’t know if he’s going to live. I apologize.”

Hide rubbed at his temples.

“We need him to live! He’s our only witness!”

The scene to him, looked like a birthday cake, that only a serial killer could create.

_Birthday…._

Hide grinned.

_It’s your birthday today?_

_Well Happy Birthday._

_~_

“Amon, did the mortician give you the reports? How about the doctor?”

To answer Hide’s question, Amon placed 10 files on Hide’s desk.

“One of them is from the paramedic. He said that the witness is in a coma currently and his condition isn’t very good. There is a possible chance that he won’t even remember what happened because of the head trauma that he suffered through…”

“We need him to live. He’s our only hope of catching Eyepatch!”

Amon sighed.

“We can’t do anything about it. The doctor doesn’t even know how to keep the man alive…”

“I don’t think he was supposed to even be alive in the first place…”

Juuzou gave Hide a summary of the case.

“The 9 people that were killed weren’t even related to each other. The youngest was about 19 and the oldes was 48. There were more man killed (6 to 3) but all were killed from either head trauma, blood loss, or impalement.”

“Have the families been contacted?”

“Yes. They are coming to identify the corpses.”

“Okay. Amon and you can do the interrogations. I need to meet someone right now.”

Juuzou frowned.

“You had a suspect but you _didn’t even tell me_?!”

“He is a possible suspect.”

“Who is he?”

Hide just turned away and walked out the door.

Juuzou stared at the retreating back.

“He’s definitely hiding something from me…”

 

~

 

Hide walked towards Anteiku. That was the only place that he knew Kaneki would be. Hopefully the coworkers would have some of Kaneki’s private information like a home address, phone number, anything. It was around 2 pm and the workers were cleaning up and getting ready for their next shift. Banjou was the first one to greet him.

“Hide-san! It’s nice to see you today, but don’t you usually come in a bit earlier?”

“Yeah, but I’m not ordering anything today. Do you happen to know where Kaneki is?”

“He just finished his shift…he’s in the backroom. Is he in trouble?”

Banjou told one of his coworkers to get Kaneki.

“The case is confidential, so I can’t answer any of your questions. This is what we usually do, so don’t worry about it.”

Hide saw Kaneki walking out in tight black pants and a light blue dress shirt. He smiled at Hide when he saw him.

“Hide! What are you doing here?”

Hide put a poker face on and firmly told Kaneki, “Hands in front of you.”

Kaneki did what he told him.

“Um, why-“

He stopped when Hide pulled out metal cuffs and placed them on his hands.

“Kaneki Ken, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent but anything you say will and can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney and one will be provided for you if you cannot afford. Do you understand?”

Kaneki bit his lip.

“I do…but I also have the right to know why I am under arrest. I can sue you for abuse of power if you are doing this without any reasons. You have no right to cuff me if I have not committed a crime or am related to one.”

Hide grinned.

“I have spent days researching and I have finally come to the conclusion that you are Eyepatch or that you have a relation to him.”

The coworkers and a few customers gasped in fright and shock. Kaneki glared at Hide.

“So you are saying that you want to question me?”

“Yes.”

“Hmph, do your subordinates know that you are out alone, apprehending a suspect when you aren’t supposed to?”

Hide pushed Kaneki out of the coffeeshop.

“For a coffee shop employee, don’t you know quite a lot about police work?”

 

~

 

Hide started talking when he was sure that Kaneki and him were alone in the questioning room.

“You know that you just got arrested right…?”

“Yeah….so…?”

“Shouldn’t you be terrified of some sort?”

“Nah. The law will help me get out of here.”

Hide rolled his eyes.

“No law will be able to save you.”

Kaneki scoffed and sneered at Hide. It wasn’t one of those sweet ones that he usually gave, it was an evil one.

“Article 11. ‘presumed innocent until guilty’. You can’t merely put me in jail from the assumptions you made of me.”

Kaneki was right. He couldn’t base his evidence just on some assumptions. He wasn’t even supposed to have Kaneki in the questioning room right now. If people knew, Kaneki would be able to get away and Hide would be suspended. He couldn’t let that happen. Hide quickly asked Kaneki some questions.

“Okay, I have some information on Eyepatch from an event when he was 14. I also found some articles from 8 years ago. It was when you were 14, because your name was on it, Kaneki Ken.”

Kaneki had a poker face on.

“When is your birthday?”

“December 20….”

_You could have lied….why didn’t you lie?!_

“That was exactly the day that the fire happened.”

Hide smirked.

“Where are your parents?”

Kaneki snarled at him.

“They are dead.”

“From a fire…?”

“Well, you read the case, so you obviously know!”

“So you killed them.”

“No, I was at my aunt’s.”

Hide sighed.

“Tell me the story.”

Kaneki quickly came up with a story that sounded pretty true.

“Mom was cooking soup for my dad and because soup takes a while to cook, she left it on the burner on high heat. Her friend called and she got distracted a bit. My dad was placing the gas can in a portable stove to get read for hot pot, but he accidentally knocked the gas over and it spilled into the fire with the soup on it. The kitchen was the first to burn and it blocked the entrance to the house so my parents were trapped in. The fire also spread too fast.”

Kaneki stared at the wall behind Hide after he was done. Hide glared down at his paper.

“How did you know all the details if you weren’t even there?”

“The police told me.”

“They wouldn’t know what your parents were doing before.”

“Scene reconstruction?”

“But everything was burnt down.”

Kaneki frowned.

“You are lying, aren’t you.”

Kaneki smiled at Hide.

“I don’t know? Maybe?”

“You can’t lie during interrogation, that’s giving out wrong information.”

“Well your only suspect is me so how do you know if it’s wrong or not?”

“So you are saying that what you said was false?”

Kaneki sweetly smiled at Hide.

“Maybe~”

“Why would you do this?”

Kaneki leaned into Hide.

He purred...

“You know I like games~”


End file.
